Technological advances and increasing availability of high-resolution satellite imagery offer the potential for more accurate land cover classifications and pattern analyses, which could greatly improve the detection and quantification of land cover change for conservation. Such remotely-sensed products, however, are often expensive and difficult to acquire, which prohibits or reduces their use. We tested whether imagery of high spatial resolution (≤5 m) differs from lower-resolution imagery (≥30 m) in performance and extent of use for conservation applications. To assess performance, we classified land cover in a heterogeneous region of Interior Atlantic Forest in Paraguay, which has undergone recent and dramatic human-induced habitat loss and fragmentation. We used 4 m multispectral IKONOS and 30 m multispectral Landsat imagery and determined the extent to which resolution influenced the delineation of land cover classes and patch-level metrics. Higher-resolution imagery more accurately delineated cover classes, identified smaller patches, retained patch shape, and detected narrower, linear patches. To assess extent of use, we surveyed three conservation journals (Biological Conservation, Biotropica, Conservation Biology) and found limited application of high-resolution imagery in research, with only 26.8% of land cover studies analyzing satellite imagery, and of these studies only 10.4% used imagery ≤5 m resolution. Our results suggest that high-resolution imagery is warranted yet under-utilized in conservation research, but is needed to adequately monitor and evaluate forest loss and conversion, and to delineate potentially important stepping-stone fragments that may serve as corridors in a human-modified landscape. Greater access to low-cost, multiband, high-resolution satellite imagery would therefore greatly facilitate conservation management and decision-making.

A licensed chikungunya vaccine now exists; however, it remains unclear whether it could be deployed during outbreaks to reduce the health burden. We used an epidemic in Paraguay as a case study. We conducted a seroprevalence study and used models to reconstruct epidemic transmission dynamics, providing a framework to assess the theoretical impact of a vaccine had it been available. We estimated that 33.0% (95% confidence interval (CI) 30.1–36.0%) of the population became infected during the outbreak. Of these individuals, 6.3% (95% CI 5.8–6.9%) were detected by the surveillance system, with a mean infection fatality ratio of 0.013% (95% CI 0.012–0.014%). A disease-blocking vaccine with 75% efficacy deployed in 40% of individuals aged ≥12 years over a 3-month period would have prevented 34,200 (95% CI 30,900–38,000) cases, representing 23% of all cases, and 73 (95% CI 66–81) deaths. If the vaccine also leads to infection blocking, 88% of cases would have been averted. These findings suggest that the vaccine is an important new tool to control outbreaks.

Aim: Deforestation of the Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay has been recent but extensive, resulting in a fragmented landscape highly influenced by forest edges. We examined edge effects on multiple dimensions of small mammalian diversity.Location: Forest fragments of eastern Paraguayan Atlantic Forest.Methods: We trapped small mammal species at different distances from the forest edge (DTE) in reserves and estimated multiple dimensions of diversity per site. Similarity analysis identified species clusters that best described the patterns of diversity across reserves. Multivariate ordination and linear mixed models were used to determine the influence of DTE on various dimensions of small mammal diversity.Results: There was an increase in richness and abundance along a DTE gradient, and remnants with higher edge:area ratios showed higher richness and abundance, independent of remnant size. Species at edges were generalists, open‐habitat species or exotic species (spillover effect). We found higher phylogenetic diversity and functional richness and divergence towards forest edges. Spillover of non‐forest and invasive species best explained richness, generalist forest species best explained total abundance, abundance of Hylaeamys megacephalus best explained diversity and evenness metrics and the presence of Marmosa paraguayana best explained various phylogenetic diversity models. None of the models that included megafauna or social factors were shown to be important in explaining patterns as a function of DTE.Main Conclusions: We found strong support for a spillover effect and mixed support for complementary resource use and enhanced habitat resources associated with ecotones. Generalists characterized edge assemblages but not all generalists were equivalent. Edges showed more phylogenetically and functionally distinct assemblages than the interior of remnants. There was a conservation of functional diversity; however, open‐habitat species, habitat generalists and exotic species boosted diversity near forest edges. Mechanisms governing diversity along forest edges are complex; disentangling those mechanisms necessitates the use of multiple dimensions of diversity.

Until now, there has been a single Paraguayan record of climbing rats of the genus Rhipidomys (Tschudi, 1845), and the specimen has not been identified at the species level. Remarkably, this record has been overlooked in recent mammal lists. Field work conducted in Paraguay during and since 2006 has produced the second and third records of Rhipidomys for this country. We conducted an assessment of external and skull morphologic variation, as well as Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian analyses based on DNA sequences, all of which indicate that all three known Paraguayan specimens of Rhipidomys belong to the species Rhipidomys macrurus (Gervais, 1855). In addition, we provide information distinguishing R. macrurus from some of its congeners, as well as new natural history data. There is now a total of 31 sigmodontine species with published Paraguayan records.